Obama 'sure' of Damascus’ use of chemical weapons, but unsure of what action to take
Washington (AsiaNews) - Barack
Obama is certain that the Syrian government has used chemical weapons against the
population of Ghouta (Damascus outskirts) . But it is still
not sure what action to take.
Speaking
to PBS (Public Broadcasting Service ) , the U.S. president said that he fears a
possible chemical attack against his country and that it is important to ensure
that " We do have to make sure that when
countries break international norms on weapons like chemical weapons that could
threaten us, that they are held accountable. "
Obama is the latest high profile
figure to express his certainty of Damascus' responsibility in the chemical
weapons attack. Previously
Joe Biden, Vice President , and John Kerry, Secretary of State had spoken out. But
unlike these two, who called for military intervention, the U.S. president is
more cautious .
Analysts
attribute this to the pacifist attitude on which Obama was elected (the "
anti-Bush " , who declared war on Afghanistan and Iraq ), but especially American
public opinion that is 60% contrary
to any military involvement even if Damascus is proven responsible .
Obama said he did not believe
that the rebels have chemical weapons, but several blogs in the U.S. have posted
links
to videos showing soldiers of the Free Syrian Army firing chemical weapons on
a Syrian village and storing chemical weapons of Saudi origin .
A
UN Security Council convened last night ended with a stalemate. Britain
wanted to pass a resolution on Syria to protect civilians, on the model of what
happened to Libya. But Russia
and China's opposition blocked the proposal.
Today, the China
Daily published an editorial in which they accuse the United States and its
allies of acting like "judge, jury and executioner ." "Any
military intervention in Syria - warned the newspaper - would have serious
consequences on regional security and would violate international norms". Such
a move, it adds, "will only to exacerbate the crisis and could have
unforeseen and unpleasant consequences."
In
Britain the intervention of Prime Minister David Cameron has been slowed by the
parliament which, before any move , demands to see the results of the UN
inquiry into the use of chemical weapons.
UN
Secretary-General Ban Ki- moon said that the team of experts who are gathering
evidence on the possible chemical attack "still needs four days."
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